title Nanjing by Night, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China - 4th October 2006 intro Nosher achieves something of an ambition in finally scoring a working trip to mainland China. Following a day in Hong Kong to sort out a visa, it was off via Dragonair business class from Hong Kong to Nanjing, to work on handset software integration for a week and spend a spare hour-or-so in the evenings wandering around. It's not easy, as Nanjing is off the beaten track as far as foreign tourists go, and there's naturally little in the way of English, so Nosher roams around with nothing more than a small map from the hotel, a recollection of which way the hotel might be, and a copy of "Instant Chinese". The nights are warm and lightly smoggy - although much more comfortable than Hong Kong - and there's a lot of activity at street level. However, the view from the 46th floor of the hotel is curious, as much of the city looks dark, with only small pools of neon, which itself is mostly turned off after 10pm. However there are several occasions to witness distant firework displays - celebrating weddings, the national holiday or perhaps the lunar festival occurring during the week. On the streets, the relative lack of foreigners is apparent, as Nosher seems to present something of a passing interest, with many a curious look, much like when in Manila a couple of years before. However, the place feels pretty safe - there are people out for a stroll - and there are quite a few traffic police keeping an eye on things. Like Bangkok, night-time brings out even more street-side food stands, and the air is thick with the wafting smells of food. On one night, our hosts take Nosher and the other visiting Qualcommers out to a restaurant for an extra-special dinner. At one point, a sizzling dish is bought in: it looks really promising until it is revealed to be split fish-heads in sauce. Yum. However, there are several new things which Nosher gets to eat, including jellyfish. imgp7576 Sales posters and a traffic-light countdown imgp7581 Food is brought out imgp7582 The latest food is inspected imgp7583 There's fresh local hairy crab imgp7587 A view of downtown Nanjing imgp7591 Our restaurant for the night imgp7592 A view of the streets from the 46th floor imgp7594 A Nanjing intersection imgp7595 Searchlights on a building imgp7598 Newsagent's stand on the street imgp7605 A Nanjing street imgp7607 Down on the streets, the first of many food stalls imgp7610 There are some open food and flower shops imgp7615 A girl sits on the kerb, waiting for sales imgp7616 A massive pile of pavement fruit imgp7619 Doing the washing up on the pavement imgp7620 Bicycles and street food imgp7624 Traffic passes the food stalls by imgp7626 An illuminated arch, near the hotel imgp7634 Cycles brave a busy junction imgp7635 A glum girl waits to sell things on sticks imgp7705 Nanjing's version of Picadilly Circus imgp7709 More neon imgp7715 The Chaotin Temple, lit up imgp7717 A large and gaudy restaurant imgp7719 A Chinese character on the Chaotin Temple wall imgp7728 Pavement art imgp7729 A dude writes with water on the slate pavement imgp7731 The crowd is fascinated by the calligrapher imgp7737 Bright lights imgp7743 A vigorous game of Mahjong is occurring imgp7747 Mahjong action imgp7748 The game continues imgp7751 Nosher manages to fluke some great food imgp7755 A busy corner for street food imgp7763 Outdoor café tables